


just a smile is enough

by withdream



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Actors, Flirting, Fluff, M/M, Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-13
Updated: 2021-02-13
Packaged: 2021-03-13 02:53:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,327
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29395074
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/withdream/pseuds/withdream
Summary: Chenle and Jisung presented an award before them, and he and Renjun should be up on stage too, not until Jaemin stops them last minute to snap some photos of them holding the plaque and bouquet demanding them toplease be still we need these pictures to share to your fanclub.Alternatively, a renhyuck actors au where donghyuck pines,hard
Relationships: Huang Ren Jun/Lee Donghyuck | Haechan
Comments: 7
Kudos: 60





	just a smile is enough

To be completely honest, Donghyuck does not remember much about what happened afterwards.

The Korean Entertainment Awards Ceremony was a _chaos_ —the wonderful kind of chaos that Donghyuck is so honored to be a part of. Chenle and Jisung presented an award before them, and he and Renjun should be up on stage too, not until Jaemin stops them last minute to snap some photos of them holding the plaque and bouquet demanding them to _please be still we need these pictures to share to your fanclub_. At the corner of his eye, he sees Jeno smiling at the back, quietly letting the mini photoshoot unfold.

Donghyuck does not have much recollection of the events that transpired but he remembers the interviews, he remembers the cameras flashing in his face with Renjun by his side, and he remembers how much he debated whether or not to rest his arm casually around Renjun’s tiny waist. (He did in the end, after much contemplation). What did Donghyuck get asked about? His future projects? Real relationship with Renjun? That’s about when his brain started getting fuzzy; it’s not like he could have possibly been concentrating with the feel of Renjun in his embrace. His lips still tingled from where they had been pressed against the crown of Renjun’s head and if he leaned for a bit and turned his head to the left he could see the profile of Renjun’s face, overflowing with boyish charm that is uniquely Renjun’s, soft, and delicate, and really, Donghyuck can’t be blamed at all for not remembering a single thing about what happened afterwards.

It’s almost midnight when the ceremony ends and Donghyuck wants nothing but to go inside the van waiting for him and Renjun. Once he’s settled down, he lets his eyes wander for a bit. Outside, the city is dark and Donghyuck watches it roll past anyway.

They are on their way to the hotel Johnny and Ten arranged for them to stay for the night which is near the Starium Theatre in Youngdeungpo where the last episode of their series will be screened followed by a short meet and greet with the fans. It will save the both of them time rather than going back to their respective houses this late in the evening and waking up early in the morning to attend rehearsals for their special dance number – a gift to the fans as Johnny would like to call it.

Despite the exhaustion, Donghyuck does not allow himself to sleep.

But Renjun does.

And Donghyuck lets him.

He’s rather tempted to prod him awake to borrow his phone solely dedicated for listening music which he knows Renjun always brings with him whenever they have activities together. He stops himself after seeing Renjun looking oh so cute with his mouth hanging just a little bit open and his glasses all askew. Renjun wears glasses now, the aftermath of practicing and memorizing his lines in the dark during the wee hours of the night. Smiling to himself, Donghyuck reaches over to carefully pluck them off the bridge of Renjun’s nose and slides them inside his own coat pocket.

He likes Renjun’s glasses.

He’s never liked glasses before.

Then again, it’s probably less about the glasses themselves and more about the person wearing them. More and more, he has found that he simply likes Renjun. He wants to touch him and talk to him and spend time with him as much as he can.

Donghyuck knows this feeling, but he isn’t sure if this is the right time to act on it.

Donghyuck taps the back of Renjun’s hand affectionately, _once_ , _twice_ , and lets him sleep some more.

He spends the rest of their ride back to the heart of Seoul absently thumbing through the pictures on his phone. There he is with Mark taking a photo in the middle of the street in Gangnam, there is Jaemin with a vein bulging in his forehead nagging at Jisung and there is Chenle and Jeno happily playing with an amused daegal... _ah_ , he misses the chaos during filming.

He keeps scrolling through until he gets to the pictures of their last days shooting for their series during New Years and their late night script read through. The dubbing studio, the hotpot restaurants, the convenience store runs, Renjun, Renjun, _Renjun_ …

Donghyuck has started to take selfies and snap pictures of sleeping Renjun when he sees familiar buildings outside.

He slips his phone back into his pocket and looks over at Renjun.

In this situation, a normal person would lightly tap Renjun on the shoulder to wake him up or maybe to shake him. But Donghyuck has never been able to act normal whenever a certain Huang Renjun is concerned.

He leans into Renjun, sliding one arm around him and murmuring into his ear, drawing out the words, “Sleeping Beauty wake up, we’re almost there.”

“Mmm?” Renjun’s eyes flutter open and he looks over at Donghyuck. There is a certain warmth building on his cheeks when he sees Donghyuck so close but he doesn’t stammer and panic like a normal person would either.

Part of Donghyuck is disappointed because he has yet to see the day Renjun would look away and stammer, which in Donghyuck’s book, tell-tale signs that Renjun might finally see him as someone who's interested in him and not simply as a co-actor.

“Did you have a good sleep?” He tells Renjun with a smile, leaning back a bit but keeping his arm slung over Renjun’s shoulder.

“How come…” Renjun flails a bit, “…we’re here already?”

“Not quite, but almost. It was a one and a half ride because of the traffic.” Donghyuck says, “And you slept for all of it. I’ll have you know that you left me with nothing to do.” He pouts.

“Why didn’t you play a game? Or listen to some music?” Renjun mumbles still half-asleep, stretching but not making any attempt to wriggle out of Donghyuck’s grasp.

“I would have wanted to borrow your for-music-only phone but you're asleep.”

Renjun frowns. “You could have woken me.” He says, “I wouldn’t have minded.”

Donghyuck shakes his head. “You needed your sleep.”

The van halts to a stop suddenly, jostling them. Donghyuck clutches onto Renjun a bit tighter.

“You can let go now.” Renjun says flatly after a while, and Donghyuck just hums in response, resisting the urge to hug him again.

“You can sleep once we get to the hotel.” Donghyuck says, reaching over to cup Renjun’s face gingerly between his hands. “What do you say we share a room and a single bed? We can sleep together.”

He should hold back, he knows. He doesn’t know if he has a chance, but he wants to try.

That gets Renjun to roll his eyes and Donghyuck brushes the hair off of Renjun’s forehead, laughing. “Come on. I’ll tell Johnny-hyung and Ten-hyung. I’m sure they’ll be ecstatic we’re being economical by sharing a single room instead of using two.” He gets to his feet and hauls Renjun to his. “But aren’t the rooms already booked?” Renjun points out and follows Donghyuck outside the van. Donghyuck decides to tease Renjun and chooses not to answer the other’s question.

He already told Ten during the ride about his wish and Renjun’s manager simply sighed and sternly told him if they so much as arrive even a minute late tomorrow, he will not let Donghyuck share a room with Renjun again.

Renjun’s leaning against Donghyuck a little bit now, waiting for Donghyuck to get his suitcase and yawning every few minutes, looking fairly adorable.

Donghyuck sneakily takes a picture of him and posts it to his Instagram with a caption that says, “sleepy fox spotted. #RenjunIsCute” accompanied by a generous number of green heart emojis.

“Donghyuck…” Renjun whines, “Don’t post that on Twitter.”

“Of course.” Donghyuck says brightly. “I’m posting it on Instagram.”

“Well, I…” Renjun starts to protest, but then he squints and seems to register that the world is blurrier than usual. He pats his head and then his pockets before turning to Donghyuck. “My glasses – “

“Fear not, little one.” Donghyuck begins.

“Little one?” Renjun repeats, annoyance slowly building on his chest because it’s the fourth time he lost his glasses this month alone. He doesn’t want to hear another hour of Ten lecturing him about the importance of minding his own things.

“Shush,” Donghyuck says, putting a finger on Renjun’s lips.

“Donghyuck…my glasses, I can’t see you clearly.” Renjun says, words muffled by the finger.

Donghyuck leans in a little and smiles widely, moving his hand from Renjun’s mouth and lightly brushing his cheek. “You want to see me? My, my Renjun...”

Renjun gives him the stinky eye and before he can say another word, Donghyuck cuts him off by sliding his glasses on his nose. “There you go.” He says softly. “Can you see me now?”

Renjun blinks. “Yes.”

Donghyuck taps the end of Renjun’s nose with a finger. “Careful not to misplace them again, little one.”

Renjun pouts, “Stop calling me that.”

“I like your glasses.” Donghyuck admits, turning to look at the luggage before them. “It would be a shame if they broke.”

“You l-like them?” Renjun stumbles over his words a bit.

Donghyuck just nods, closing the back of the van and proceeds to grab his luggage and then Renjun’s.

“Let’s go - “

Donghyuck feels a tug at his sleeve and he turns, surprised, to see Renjun grabbing it.

“Renjun?”

“Thank you.” He says, eyes focused on the space above Donghyuck’s left ear instead of on his face. “For holding them for me.”

“I meant it,” Donghyuck says softly. “I like them a lot.”

“People always say I look better without them.”

“I like you both ways.” Donghyuck says honestly.

Renjun doesn’t answer, but he looks flushed and pleased. As they head down the hotel entrance, Donghyuck reaches to grab the hand still clutching his sleeve and winds their fingers together. Renjun starts, but he doesn’t pull away.

Together, they approach the receptionist and proceed to check in. Donghyuck is still holding Renjun’s hand during the entire ride inside the elevator. It’s starting to become sweaty, but Donghyuck does not want to let go yet. It has been a long time since he’s held hands with Renjun, outside of filming, since he freely allowed himself to and…

_It’s nice._

The two drop their clasped hands when it’s time for Donghyuck to open their hotel room.

Their room, unfortunately, comes with two beds.

Donghyuck tries his best not to look disappointed.

After dropping his bags near the bed beside the window, Donghyuck is desperate for a shower. “I miss the cold springs in Japan, when we went there for a week of filming,” He mutters as they troop to the room, bags in hand.

“We could always come back if you want to.” Renjun comforts him, trying to stifle a yawn. His energy is fading, his steps slow and sluggish.

They both get ready for bed with little talking and lots of yawns. Donghyuck has started to get tired too, but being the gentleman that he is, he lets Renjun have the first shower.

He flops on the nearest bed and flips through the channels on the flat screen television absentmindedly.

Renjun comes out a while later, wet and flushed and dressed in soft-looking pajamas.

Donghyuck’s gaze catches on the mole resting on Renjun’s pale throat and his breath hitches.

He wants to kiss it.

“Shower’s free.” Renjun says unnecessarily.

“Mmm.” Donghyuck pretends that he is very invested in whatever is on the screen.

_Now’s not the time for such thoughts._

“What are you watching?” Renjun asks.

“I…” Donghyuck squints at it. “I have no idea.”

Renjun sits on the bed beside Donghyuck’s and Donghyuck fights a wave of disappointment. He has to be patient with Renjun, he knows that and he’s more than okay with it, but sometimes he wants...well.

He just wants.

“I’m going to shower.” He says, standing and stretching. “You should get some sleep.”

“Okay.” Renjun smiles at him. “’Night, Donghyuck-ah.”

Donghyuck smiles back before retreating to the bathroom.

His shower is blissfully long and warm, water washing off the grime from tonight’s events. He hums contentedly, going over their schedule for tomorrow in his head. He worries about forgetting the dance steps for the performance they prepared for the last episode screening and whether or not Renjun will kiss him on his cheek for real. Their dance instructor told them they could opt not to kiss if they want to…but he hopes…

He gets out of the shower and steps out of the bathroom to see Renjun already sound asleep. He’s still wearing his glasses. Donghyuck clucks his tongue and takes them off to place them on the bedside table.

Donghyuck could only wish to slide in beside Renjun, but boundaries are important and he doesn’t want to force through Renjun’s. He wants Renjun to lower them himself, for him to let Donghyuck in because he wants to.

He clambers into his own bed dejectedly, flipping on his side to look at Renjun.

In the darkness, he’s barely visible.

He remembers the time he first approached Renjun, humoring him with his games during their first script reading because it was fun and he found him interesting that way. He kept looking after Renjun because he wanted to be close to him until the latter started to become comfortable and depend on him, even for a little bit. It made Renjun smile in a way that he never did to others.

At first, it never really meant much.

Now, though, it’s starting to mean something.

It’s starting to mean a lot.

“What should I do?” Donghyuck says, soft but there. “If I start to desire more than just a single smile from you?”

In the next bed, Renjun sleeps on unaware.

Outside, the wind blows, carrying Donghyuck’s wishes with it.

**Author's Note:**

> first time writing for renhyuck! and tbh im all in it for pining!donghyuck
> 
> if you reached this part, thank you so much for reading the fic!


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